Stamp duty calculator

What stamp duty actually is

Transfer duty is a state tax on the transfer of property. It is calculated on the dutiable value of the property against a bracket table published by the state revenue office, and it is usually the largest single upfront cost after the deposit.

In New South Wales the official name is transfer duty, though almost everyone still calls it stamp duty. Revenue NSW assesses it on the dutiable value, which is the purchase price or the market value of the property, whichever is higher.

What you pay in New South Wales

Transfer duty is charged on a sliding bracket scale, not a flat percentage. For the 2026/27 financial year Revenue NSW assesses it like this:

• Up to $18,000 — $1.25 for every $100 of the dutiable value, with a $20 minimum
• $18,000 to $38,000 — $225, plus $1.50 for every $100 over $18,000
• $38,000 to $103,000 — $525, plus $1.75 for every $100 over $38,000
• $103,000 to $387,000 — $1,662, plus $3.50 for every $100 over $103,000
• $387,000 to $1,290,000 — $11,602, plus $4.50 for every $100 over $387,000
• $1,290,000 to $3,870,000 — $52,237, plus $5.50 for every $100 over $1,290,000
• Over $3,870,000 — $194,137, plus $7.00 for every $100 over $3,870,000, charged as premium property duty

On a $900,000 purchase the sum starts from the $387,000 bracket: $11,602, plus $4.50 for every $100 of the $513,000 above it. That is $34,687 in transfer duty.

First home buyer concessions

Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, a first home buyer in New South Wales pays no transfer duty at all on a new or existing home with a dutiable value of $800,000 or less. Between $800,000 and $1,000,000 a concessional rate applies on a sliding scale, and at $1,000,000 and above the full duty is payable. Vacant land is exempt to $350,000, with a concession up to $450,000.

The concession is worth a great deal in the middle of that band. On a $900,000 purchase the full duty is $34,687; a first home buyer pays $19,594, so the concession is worth $15,094. It shrinks as the price rises and disappears at $1,000,000, which is why a few thousand dollars on a contract price can cost far more than it looks.

The exemption belongs to the purchase rather than to one buyer, so every purchaser has to qualify. There is also a residence condition: for contracts exchanged from 1 July 2023, one of the eligible first home buyers must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months. Revenue NSW decides whether a particular purchase qualifies.

When stamp duty has to be paid

Transfer duty is due within three months of signing the contract for sale, or within three months of the transfer date or the date of the deed where there is no contract. If settlement falls earlier than that, the duty has to be paid on or before settlement instead. Eligible off-the-plan purchases of residential property can defer payment for up to 12 months.

In practice that means the money is needed at settlement, alongside the deposit and the other completion costs, which is why it belongs in the savings plan rather than in the following year’s budget. The deposit planner works out how long it takes to get there.

The other government costs at settlement

Duty is the largest government charge but not the only one. NSW Land Registry Services charges $182.73 to register the transfer of title and a further $182.73 to register the mortgage. A foreign purchaser pays surcharge purchaser duty of 9 per cent of the dutiable value on top of the ordinary duty.

The calculator above includes the registration fees in its total, so the figure it returns is the full government cost rather than the duty alone. Agent fees, conveyancing, building and pest and the cost of moving sit outside it — the buying and selling cost calculator covers those.

Where these figures come from

The brackets and thresholds are taken directly from Revenue NSW and are dated on the result. They are checked monthly against the revenue office, and a state we have not verified returns no figure at all rather than a guess.

This page is general information, not tax advice. Your own duty depends on the contract, the buyers and the property, and Revenue NSW is the authority on all three.